Towing system and method for a water sports apparatus

ABSTRACT

A system and method for towing a water sports apparatus over a body of water behind a towing vessel. The system includes a rider towline for coupling a rider of the water sports apparatus to the towing vessel. The rider towline includes a distal end adapted to the gripped by the rider, to enable the rider to be pulled over the body of water on the water sports apparatus during forward motion of the towing vessel. The towing system also includes a lift apparatus coupled with the rider towline and adapted to lift the rider towline during forward motion of the towing vessel, so that an uppermost point of the rider towline is above and behind the towing vessel.

BACKGROUND

Towable water sports devices are used in various recreational andprofessional activities. These devices include water skis, kneeboards,wakeboards, water ski boards, tubes and other devices which are towedbehind a motor boat or other towing vessel along with a rider.Typically, the rider stands, kneels, or sits on the device, and atowline is held by the rider or attached to the device.

Wakeboarding, for example, is a recreational and professional sport thatis rapidly increasing in popularity. In wakeboarding and other watersports, it is often desirable to jump off the water surface to addexcitement to the activity, perform tricks or other aerial maneuvers,etc. Often, the wake created by the towing vessel is used as a ramp tofacilitate jumping off the surface of the water. However, regardless ofthe amount of wake present, riders will often want to maximize theability to jump off the water surface.

Accordingly, motor boats have been provided with elevated anchor pointstypically called wake towers to accommodate a higher angle of attachmentof the rider towline. Typically, a pylon, tower or like structureextends several feet above the deck of the boat (e.g., approximately8-10 feet). This slightly increases the angle formed by the ridertowline with the surface of the water. The resulting upwardly directedforce component allows the rider to jump higher off the water surface.

Various constraints limit the advantages obtained through use of suchelevated anchor points. Typically, there are practical and otherlimitations on the height of elevated anchor point structures, forexample hauling or fold-away limitations. Large towers can flexsignificantly, requiring stabilizing guy wires or other structuralreinforcements within the boat. Towers can also adversely affect thestability of the towing vessel, due to leveraged forces exerted by therider towline on the tower, particularly when the rider pulls from oneside of the motor boat. For these and other reasons, the jumpingadvantage provided by an elevated anchor point within a boat is limited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a water sports towing system and method according to thepresent description.

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the system of FIG. 1, depicting an elevatedsupport location for the rider towline of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary lift apparatus, such as a kite, that may beemployed in connection with the water sports towing system and method ofthe present description.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C depict a method of towing a water sports apparatusaccording to the present description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a system 10, and accompanying method, for towing a watersports apparatus/device and rider over a body of water with a towingvessel. In the depicted example, the water sports device is implementedas a wakeboard 14, though it will be appreciated that water skis orother towable water sports devices may be used with the present systemand method. While standing on wakeboard 14, rider 12 is towed over bodyor water 16 by a towing vessel such as power boat 18. Rider 12 typicallygrasps or is otherwise secured to a rider towline 20, and a lift system22 is deployed to support a portion of rider towline 20 at an elevatedlocation.

As indicated, lift system 22 may include a lift apparatus such as kite24 secured to an attachment point on boat 18. In addition to or insteadof kite 24, an airfoil, sail, chute ad/or the like may be employed. Useof such a lift apparatus allows the rider towline to be supported sothat the rider towline extends upward from the rider at a significantlysteeper angle than possible when the towline is attached directly to aconventional boat-mounted anchor structure. The resulting pulling forceon the rider towline thus provides a substantially increased verticalforce component, enhancing the ability of the rider to jump off thesurface of the water, for example by traversing and jumping the wakecreated by boat 18 either on toe-side or heel-side wake board rides.

Boat 18 may be a conventional power boat of the type normally used forwakeboarding, waterskiing, etc. An attachment or anchor structure 26typically is provided within boat 18, to accommodate attachment of linesfor all types of towable devices, including the kite and rider.Specifically, in the depicted example, kite 24 is connected to anattachment point on an anchor structure 26 via a line referred to as akite towline or kite bridle line 28. As indicated, bridle line 28tethers kite 24 to boat 18 during towing, and therefore should be ofsufficient test strength to withstand anticipated tensions due to wind,acceleration of the boat, pull out of the water, etc. In addition,bridle line 28 typically floats and is lightweight so as to maximize thelifting forces provided to rider 12.

Towing force is imparted to rider 12 via rider towline 20 upon forwardmotion boat 18 over body of water 16. It will be appreciated that ridertowline 20 provides force components in both a horizontal direction anda vertical direction. The horizontally directed force causes rider 12and wakeboard 14 to be conveyed horizontally over the surface of thewater. The vertical force, to the extent present, enhances the abilityof the rider to jump off the surface of the water, for example toperform aerial stunts or other special in-air maneuvers. Illustrativevertical and horizontal force vectors imparted by rider towline 20 arelabeled V and H, respectively, at a distal end or handle 20a of thetowline.

The magnitude of the vertical force component typically varies with theangle formed between rider towline 20 and the water surface. Asindicated, rider towline 20 may be engaged with bridle line 28 so as toincrease this angle. Specifically, rider towline 20 and kite bridle line28 may be engaged so that a portion of the rider towline is supported atan elevated location, typically at or near bridle line 28. In thedepicted example, rider towline 28 may be supported at any one ofseveral different intermediate locations 30a, 30b, 30c and 30d along thelength of the kite bridle line. As described below, a specificintermediate location may be selected to increase or decrease the ridertowline angle, and thus vary the lift enhancement or vertical force thatis provided.

Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, FIG. 1 shows towingsystem 10 in a fully deployed mode, after boat 18 has achieved a desiredtowing velocity, typically 18-22 miles per hour. The fully deployed modeof system 10 is also shown in FIG. 4C, with FIGS. 4A and 4B showingsystem 10 at rest and at an intermediate speed during initialacceleration after kite 24 has launched. At rest and during initialacceleration, kite 24 rests or floats on the water surface along withand typically in front of rider 12, though alternate riggingconfigurations may be used in which the kite is not in front of therider. During initial acceleration, the rider and kite are pulled acrossthe surface of the water. As discussed below, kite 24 typically isprovided with various pontoon type bladders or other float materialstructures to help the kite to float and plane or skin over the watersurface. Various rigging configurations may be employed, though the kiteand rider lines typically will be sized so that rider 12 trails behindkite 24 while the kite planes over the water surface (e.g., prior toliftoff of the kite). Other rigging configurations may of course beemployed, depending on considerations such as performance duringlaunching and takedown of kite 24, the desired pulling forces and liftenhancement, etc.

Regardless of the particular configuration, kite 24 typically isdesigned to skin across the water at relatively low speeds, and thenlift off the water surface once threshold wind speed through the kitestructure is achieved. FIG. 4B shows system 10 shortly after kiteliftoff has occurred. System 10 typically is designed so that kiteliftoff occurs when the boat is traveling at a significantly lowervelocity than the desired towing speed. For example, if the desiredtowing speed while wakeboarding is 20 miles per hour, then it may bedesirable to design the kite to lift off the water surface when the boataccelerates to 5-15 miles per hour.

After kite liftoff, boat 18 continues to accelerate to the desiredtowing speed typically 18-22 miles per hour, and kite 24 continues torise upward and behind the boat. Once the desired towing speed isreached, kite 24 is fully deployed in a position above and behind boat18 and above and typically in front of the rider 12 (FIG. 4C). Theposition of the kite relative to the boat when fully deployed willtypically depend on various factors, including rigging configuration,weight of the rider, velocity of the boat, relative wind speed, etc.

At the end of the towing session, kite 24 typically will glide graduallyto the water surface upon slowing of boat 18, at which point the kitewill skim across the water for the next deployment of another towingsession, or may be reeled in and slowed. Should the kite remain aloft(e.g., due to wind), an auxiliary line operable by the rider or someonewithin the boat may be used to bring the kite down. For example,attached to the boat may be an auxiliary take-down line attached to thekite on the other end, so that the kite may be brought down at any timeby a boat occupant. The rider, who typically is connected to the systemonly by towline handle 20a, may disengage from the system at any time byletting go of the towline handle. Additionally or alternatively, a reelmechanism may be employed to reel out and retract kite bridle line 28 asdesired.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the elevated support of rider towline 20will be described in more detail. As discussed above, the riggingconfiguration in the depicted example supports rider towline 20 at anelevated location to provide lift enhancement. Typically, this elevatedlocation is at a point that is above and to the rear of boat 18, toincrease the upward angle at which the towline extends from rider 12. Inthe exemplary configurations discussed above, this is accomplished bysupporting a portion of rider towline 20 at an intermediate location(e.g., location 30a, 30b, etc.) along kite bridle line 28 between kite24 and where the bridle line attaches to boat 18.

FIG. 2 shows an example of how rider towline 20 may be supported at suchan intermediate location 30a along the kite bridle line. Support atintermediate location 30a is achieved through a loop 32 attached to kitebridle line 28, with a pulley attached to the loop via a carabiner orlike device. Rider towline 20 is received through pulley 34, such thatrider towline 20 extends from its distal end/handle 20a (e.g., the endheld by rider 12 in FIG. 1), through pulley 34 to proximal end 20b(e.g., attached to boat 18). When system 10 is fully deployed duringtowing, pulley 34 thus defines the uppermost point of rider towline 20.This elevated location is substantially above and to the rear of boat18, so that the rider line imparts an enhanced vertical force componentV to rider 12. The attachment mechanism and location points 30a, 30b,30c, 30d or any other desired point on line 28 may be automaticallyadjustable for weight of the rider, or mechanically adjustable.

As discussed in more detail below, one or more additional loops may beemployed along kite bridle 28, to provide for adjustment of the ridertowline elevated support location. FIG. 1 shows several such loops belowlocation 30a. In such a case, the rider towline may be rigged throughone or more of the lower loops, as depicted in FIG. 1, or may be riggedto bypass any or all of those lower loops.

It should be appreciated that the various other methods may be employedto engage the rider and kite towlines to provide an elevated support, inaddition to or instead of the exemplary pulley arrangement shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. Other pulley mechanisms may be employed; for example areverse pulley system may be used in which the kite bridle line is runthrough a pulley.

Also, the depicted example has separate lines for both the kite andrider. The separate lines are engaged so as to co-extend for a certaindistance away from the boat (e.g., to location 30a, 30b, 30c or 30d),beyond which point the rider line is free to diverge downward and awayfrom the kite bridle line to where it is held by the wakeboard rider. Asa result, a portion of rider towline 20 is pulled upward off the watersurface as the kite is flown behind the boat. However, instead of havingsuch an arrangement with separate full-length lines, one or both of thelines may be shortened, so that only a single length of line runsbetween anchor structure 36 and the point at which the divergent kiteand rider lines meets. For example, rider towline 20 may be shortened sothat it extends upward to terminate at an intermediate attachment pointon kite bridle line 28. Alternatively, rider towline 20 may be extendedto attach at the boat, with the kite bridle line being provided in ashorter segment that connects to an intermediate attachment point on therider towline.

It can also be appreciated that line 28 may be the only attachment lineto the motor boat 18, and line 20 may be shortened to attach to points30a, 30b, 30c, 30d or other desired attachment points.

Referring again to FIG. 1, system 10 may be configured to enableadjustment of the amount of vertical lift force provided. Specifically,rider towline 20 may be engaged with kite bridle line 28 at any ofseveral different intermediate support locations 30a, 30b, 30c and 30dalong kite bridle line 28, as previously discussed. Exemplary system 10includes four different support locations., though more or lesslocations may be employed, as desired.

Typically, the system is configured so that each support locationprovides a different performance characteristics. Specifically, thedifferent locations in the depicted example allow variation of the angleof rider towline 20, and thus variation of the amount of lift forceimparted to rider 12 during towing. Locations closer to anchor structure26 (e.g., location 30d) provides shallower angles for rider towline 20,and thus provide less lift enhancement for the rider. Moving fartheraway from boat 18, successive intermediate locations 30c, 30b and 30aprovide increasingly steeper line angles and thus greater liftenhancement during towing. In the four-location example, the locationsmay be selected to correspond to suggested rider size/weight, forexample small (closest to boat 18), medium, large and extra-large.

Typically, the specific support location for the rider towline isselected based on the desired amount of unweighting, or vertical liftingforce V to be imparted to the rider. This may include empiricaldeterminations that take into account boat speed, kite liftcharacteristics, line rigging configurations, rider body weight andother factors. Normally, it will be desirable that the system isconfigured to unweight the rider and thereby enhance jumping ability,without providing a vertical force V (FIG. 1) sufficient to overcomegravity, or typically less than 1 G of vertical lift is desired to gainboth an aerial effect and water effect. Accordingly, the liftingmechanism, while enhancing jumping ability and allowing a rider to catchbigger air, typically will not keep the rider aloft indefinitely.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary kite 40 will be described in moredetail. Though various configurations may be employed, kite 40 typicallywill be configured so that, when aloft, the kite has significant lateralstability so as to track in the direction boat 18 is traveling.Accordingly, kite 40 will counter lateral pulls by the rider as therider crosses back and forth across the wake. Also, it will normally bedesirable that the kite smoothly and stably lift off when pulled atspeeds lower than the anticipated range of towing speeds. In wakeboardapplications, 20 miles per hour is a common towing speed, so that thekite should be configured to take flight at a substantially slower speedand be fully deployed and providing significant lift by the time theboat has accelerated to 20 miles per hour.

Referring to the specific features of the depicted example, kite 40 mayinclude a plurality of panels made of ripstop nylon or another suitablematerial. For example, kite 40 has two outer fin panels 42 and 44 and acenter fin panel 46, with two top panels 48 and 50 extending betweenupper edges of the center and side fin panels. As shown, the panels maybe supported with a frame 52 of lightweight rod members, such as carbonfiber, aluminum, or other such structural material rods 54, 56, 58, 60,62 and 64. The rods may be sewn into the panels, or secured to thepanels with snaps, clips, closures or other fastening mechanism ormethods.

The panels of exemplary kite 40 define wind channels 72, which areshaped and otherwise configured to provide tracking and stability duringflight. Bleeder holes 75 may be provided in various panels of the kiteas needed. One or more bridle line attachment points 74, 76 and 78 maybe provided to connect bridle line 28 to the kite. Astabilizing/spreading mechanism 80 may also be provided to space theside panels and maintain structural integrity. In the depicted example,the mechanism includes piston rods 82 and 84 and angled brace rods 86and 88. Additionally, or alternatively, kite 40 may be provided with oneor more inflatable components, such as air bladders, that are configuredto maintain the structure of the kite when inflated. Inflatablecomponents may also be employed to increase floatation of the kite.

Referring still to FIG. 3, kite 40 may include base structures adaptedto facilitate flotation and planing across the water surface. Inparticular, the lower base portion of kite 40 includes elongate floatrunners 90, 92 and 94, which are provided at the bottom edges of outerfin panels 42 and 44 and center fin panel 46. The runners typically areimplemented as floats, and are made of hollow plastic, foam or anothermaterial to provide flotation. The runners typically are shaped andaligned to guide the kite over the water surface prior to liftoff, andmay be provided with fins or skegs 96 to enhance tracking while the kiteis being dragged over the water and/or while in the air.

While the present embodiments and method implementations have beenparticularly shown and described, it should be understood that manyvariations may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope defined in the following claims. The description should beunderstood to include all novel and non-obvious combinations of elementsdescribed herein, and claims may be presented in this or a laterapplication to any novel and non-obvious combination of these elements.Where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalentthereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation ofone or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or moresuch elements.

1. A towing system for towing a water sports apparatus over a body ofwater behind a towing vessel, comprising: a lift apparatus; a bridleline adapted to couple the lift apparatus to an attachment point on thetowing vessel, where the lift apparatus is adapted to fly above andbehind the towing vessel during forward motion of the towing vessel overthe body of water; and a rider towline for towing a rider of the watersports apparatus, the rider towline having a distal end adapted to beheld by the rider, and wherein the towline system is adapted so that,during flight of the lift apparatus, a portion of the rider towline issupported at an intermediate location along the bridle line between thelift apparatus and the attachment point.
 2. The towing system of claim1, where the rider towline is selectively supportable at one of aplurality of different intermediate locations along the bridle linebetween the lift apparatus and the attachment point.
 3. The towingsystem of claim 2, where the towing system is configured so thatchanging from one of the intermediate locations to another varies anangle of the rider towline that occurs during towing of the water sportsapparatus.
 4. The towing system of claim 2, where the rider towlineincludes a proximal end adapted to be secured to the towing vessel, andwhere during towing of the water sports apparatus, the rider towlineextends from the towing vessel substantially along the bridle line to asecuring device at a selected one of the plurality of differentintermediate locations, and then beyond the securing device the ridertowline is free to diverge away from the bridle line.
 5. The towingsystem of claim 4, where the securing device includes a pulley adaptedto receive the rider towline therethrough.
 6. The towing system of claim1, where the lift apparatus includes a float adapted to maintain thelift apparatus afloat on the body of water while not in flight.
 7. Thetowing system of claim 1, where the lift apparatus includes a baseadapted to enable the lift apparatus to plane over the body of waterwhile not in flight.
 8. The towing system of claim 7, where the baseincludes plural elongate floats, each having a downwardly extending fin.9. The towing system of claim 1, where lift characteristics of the liftapparatus and placement of the intermediate location along the bridleline are selected based on rider body weight and desired level of liftenhancement, so as to provide a vertical upwardly directed forcesufficient to unweight the rider without overcoming gravity.
 10. Atowing system for towing a water sports apparatus over a body of waterbehind a towing vessel, comprising: a rider towline configured to couplea rider of the water sports apparatus to the towing vessel, the ridertowline including a distal end adapted to be gripped by the rider toenable the rider to be pulled over the body of water on the water sportsapparatus during forward motion of the towing vessel; and a lift systemcoupled with the rider towline and adapted to lift the rider towlineduring forward motion of the towing vessel so that an uppermost point ofthe rider towline is above and behind the towing vessel.
 11. The towingsystem of claim 10, where the lift system includes a lift apparatussecured via a bridle line to an attachment point on the towing vessel,the lift apparatus being adapted to fly above and behind the towingvessel during forward motion of the towing vessel, and where theuppermost point of the rider towline is supported at an intermediatelocation along the bridle line between the lift apparatus and theattachment point.
 12. The towing system of claim 11, where the ridertowline is selectively supportable at one of a plurality of differentintermediate locations along the bridle line between the lift apparatusand the attachment point.
 13. The towing system of claim 12, where thetowing system is configured so that changing from one of theintermediate locations to another varies an angle of the rider towlinethat occurs during towing of the water sports apparatus.
 14. The towingsystem of claim 12, where the rider towline includes a proximal endadapted to be secured to the towing vessel, and where during towing ofthe water sports apparatus, the rider towline extends from the towingvessel substantially along the bridle line to a securing device at aselected one of the plurality of different intermediate locations, andthen beyond the securing device the rider towline is free to divergeaway from the bridle line.
 15. The towing system of claim 11, where thelift apparatus includes a float adapted to maintain the lift apparatusafloat on the body of water while not in flight.
 16. The towing systemof claim 11, where the lift apparatus includes a base adapted to enablethe lift apparatus to plane over the body of water while not in flight.17. The towing system of claim 16, where the base includes pluralelongate float runners, each having a downwardly extending fin.
 18. Atowing system for towing a water sports apparatus over a body of waterbehind a towing vessel, comprising: a lift apparatus; a bridle linehaving a distal end adapted to be connected to the lift apparatus and aproximal end adapted to be secured to the towing vessel; a rider towlinehaving a distal end with a handle adapted to be gripped by a rider ofthe water sports apparatus and a proximal end adapted to be secured tothe towing vessel; and a securing device positioned at an intermediatelocation along the bridle line and adapted to engage the bridle line andthe rider towline so that, when the proximal end of the bridle line andthe proximal end of the rider towline are secured to the towing vessel,a portion of the rider towline between the handle and the proximal endis drawn upward upon rising of the lift apparatus.
 19. A method oftowing a water sports apparatus and rider across a body of water,comprising: providing a towing vessel; attaching a lift apparatus to thetowing vessel with a bridle line; providing a rider towline with ahandle to be gripped by the rider; engaging the rider towline with thebridle line; and accelerating the towing vessel to a desired towingspeed while the handle of the rider towline is held by the rider,thereby causing the lift apparatus to fly above and behind the towingvessel, where engaging the rider towline with the bridle line isperformed so that, when the handle of the rider towline is gripped bythe rider, the rider two line exceeds upward from the handle toward thebridle line and is supported at an intermediate location along thebridle line, the intermediate location being between the lift apparatusand the towing vessel.
 20. The method of claim 19, where the liftapparatus includes a float adapted to maintain the lift apparatus afloaton the body of water while not in flight.
 21. The method of claim 19,where the lift apparatus includes a base adapted to enable the liftapparatus to plane over the body of water while not in flight.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, where the base includes plural elongate floatrunners, each having a downwardly extending fin.
 23. The method of claim19, where the intermediate location is one of a plurality of differentintermediate locations along the bridle line, and where the methodincludes selecting a desired one of a plurality of differentintermediate locations, and where engaging the rider towline with thebride line is performed so that the bridle line is supported at thedesired one of the plurality of different intermediate locations. 24.The method of claim 23, where selecting a desired one of a plurality ofdifferent intermediate locations is performed based on a desiredrelative angle of the rider towline during towing of the water sportsapparatus.
 25. A towing system, comprising: a lift apparatus comprisinga kite or other airfoil, the kite or other airfoil having a body with aleading edge, a trailing edge, and two opposing edges therebetween, witha float disposed on each opposing edge enabling the kite or otherairfoil to plane or skim over a surface while being towed below a speedthat causes it to lift, and to lift off the surface and fully deploy ata speed between about 5 to about 18 miles per hours, and when fullydeployed to provide a vertical, upwardly directed force to a line to arider, enhancing the ability of a rider to jump off the surface, butgenerally allowing the rider to maintain contact with the surface duringtowing, wherein the body comprises a top surface portion with downwardlyextending side surface portions and the opposing edges are bottom edgesof the side portions.
 26. The towing system of claim 25 wherein the liftapparatus is structurally configured so that when aloft, the sidesurface portions provide significant lateral stability so as to track inthe direction a towing vehicle is traveling and the lift apparatus isstructurally configured with one or more inflatable components tomaintain the structure of the lift apparatus when inflated.
 27. Thetowing system of claim 25, further comprising: a bridle line and ridertowline that are coupled together and arranged so that: (i) a first endof a towline is for coupling the system to a towing vehicle, (ii) asecond end of the towline is for coupling the system to a handleapparatus for a rider, (iii) an end of the bridle end is for coupling toa lift apparatus comprising a kite or other airfoil, and (iv) when thelift apparatus is coupled to the bridle line end and is towed at a speedof deployment by a vehicle coupled to the end of the towline, the liftapparatus is capable of applying the upwardly directed force to the lineto a rider via the arrangement of lines, enhancing the ability of arider to jump off the surface, but generally allowing the rider tomaintain contact with the surface during towing.
 28. A method of makinga towing system, comprising a kite: structurally configuring a materialinto one or more panels forming the kite; providing means for couplingthe kit to a bridle line; providing one or more floats in the kiteenabling the kite to plane or skim over a water surface while beingtowed below a speed that causes it to lift; wherein the overall kitewith floats is enabled to lift off the water surface and fully deploy ata speed between about 5 to about 18 miles per hours and when fullydeployed to provide a vertical, upwardly directed force to a line to arider, enhancing the ability of a rider to jump off the surface, butgenerally allowing the rider to maintain contact with the surface duringtowing; and wherein the body comprises a top portion with downwardlyextending side surface portions and the opposing edges are the bottomedges of the side portions.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein the kiteis structurally configured so that when aloft the side surface portionsprovide significant lateral stability so as to track in the direction atowing vehicle is traveling, and wherein the kite is structurallyconfigured with one or more inflatable components to maintain thestructure of the lift apparatus when inflated.
 30. The method of claim29, further comprising: providing a bridle line and rider towline, andcoupling and arranging them so that: (i) a first end of the towline isfor coupling the system to a towing vehicle, (ii) a second end of thetowline is for coupling the system to a handle apparatus for a rider,(iii) an end of a bridle line is for coupling to the kite, and (iv) whenthe kite is coupled to the bridle line end and is towed at a speed ofdeployment by a vehicle coupled to the second end, the kite via thearrangement of lines is capable of applying the upwardly directed forceto the line to a rider, enhancing the ability of a rider to jump off thesurface, but generally allowing the rider to maintain contact with thesurface during towing.